ZIP 56252 vs ZIP 56279

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56252 (Kerkhoven, MN) and ZIP 56279 (Pennock, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56252 has a population of 1,238 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 56279 has 1,271 at 8 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 56252 reports a median household income of $82,571 against $84,000 in ZIP 56279, with per-capita income of $39,714 vs $39,729. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.6% in 56252 and 20.1% in 56279. Poverty rate reads 5.8% vs 7.3%, and unemployment 5.4% vs 1.2% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $207,100 in 56252 versus $231,700 in 56279, with median rent of $809 and $1,050 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.3% vs 79.7%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.